How Many Times Did Bill Clinton Instruct Our UN Ambassador to ABSTAIN (PRESENT!)?

CorpGovActivist

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Tue Jan-22-08 12:28 AM
Original message

How Many Times Did Bill Clinton Instruct Our UN Ambassador to ABSTAIN (PRESENT!)?

Edited on Tue Jan-22-08 12:35 AM by CorpGovActivist

That's us, as a nation, voting "present" on the world stage.

Obama might say: "Well, Senator, you know, even with that Rhodes Scholarship and an entire foreign policy team, sometimes the former President had our Ambassador vote PRESENT at the UN. Will you pledge right here and now, that - if you're elected President - you will always instruct your appointees to vote YEA or NAY at the UN? That's more important than the Illinois legislature, after all, since force can be authorized and so forth."

- Dave

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

CorpGovActivist

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Tue Jan-22-08 08:34 AM
Response to Original message

1. .

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

La Lioness Priyanka

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Tue Jan-22-08 08:37 AM
Response to Original message

2. ok not being partisan here, but foreign relations are more entangled than domestic policy right?

we would want to tread much more carefully about what we say yes or not to with regards to foreign relations.

i assume the issues are far more delicate and complex. so does the comparison really hold?

i would actually like someone to inform me about this comparison if possible

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

CorpGovActivist

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Tue Jan-22-08 08:49 AM
Response to Reply #2

4. The US Mission to the UN

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=us+mission+to+the+un">The factsheets help explain why we sometimes abstain.

- Dave

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

La Lioness Priyanka

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Tue Jan-22-08 08:57 AM
Response to Reply #4

6. so would it be fair to say that sometimes it is best for US interests to abstain from making

hard choices in the UN.

likely because one nation we need for something else is likely to be pissed off?

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

CorpGovActivist

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Tue Jan-22-08 08:59 AM
Response to Reply #6

7. Or, Maybe by Abstaining on Vote A, We Get a More Favorable Vote on Vote B...

... which is more vital to our interests.

Similarly, perhaps Obama traded a "soft no" or "present" in exchange for an issue that was vital to him?

- Dave

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

bigtree

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Tue Jan-22-08 08:44 AM
Response to Original message

3. It's not always possible to manage the many different governments

with the same 'democratic' discipline we would expect in our own democracy.

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

La Lioness Priyanka

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Tue Jan-22-08 08:53 AM
Response to Reply #3

5. this is what i think, that the govt we elect have an obligation to us which is somewhat

different from obligations to the UN

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

DU AdBot (1000+ posts)

Thu May 16th 2024, 02:11 AM
Response to Original message

Advertisements [?]

Top

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators

Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.